Campaign 2000 and partner Dignity for All are collecting signatures for an open letter in English and French that will be sent to Minister Jean-Yves Duclos in mid-February. The letter provides concrete recommendations to strengthen Bill C-87, An Act respecting the reduction of poverty. It also urges Canada to commit to ending poverty by 2030 to align with the United Nations’ first Sustainable Development Goal.

We urge all concerned individuals and organizations across Canada to read and sign this Open Letter.  Please visit the Dignity for All website for a list of recommendations and to read the full letter.

Our recommendations include aligning with, and explicitly referencing, Canada’s international human rights obligations; ensuring that Canada’s official poverty line genuinely reflects the experiences of poverty in Canada, especially as faced by those in marginalized groups; and ensuring that the National Advisory Council on Poverty provides an effective accountability mechanism for those living in poverty.

This legislation provides Canada the historic opportunity to be a global leader in human rights and to commit to a country free of poverty where every child and family thrives.

In advance of the 30th year of the 1989 all-party commitment to eliminate child poverty by the year 2000, Campaign 2000 calls on the federal government to be more ambitious in its poverty reduction targets and timelines. The coalition commends the government on the first steps taken to reduce poverty but encourages bolder action to ensure Canadians do not have to wait another generation to see the end of child poverty.

Released on November 20th, National Child Day, the 2018 national report card “Bold Ambitions for Child Poverty Eradication in Canada,” provides a current snapshot of child and family poverty and demonstrates the need for a costed implementation plan to eradicate child poverty in this generation.

Ahead of the 2019 federal election, Campaign 2000 invites all parties to commit to the missing piece in Canada’s anti-poverty agenda: universal childcare. Without affordable, accessible, and quality childcare, parents cannot lift themselves and their children out of poverty.

Six Campaign 2000 provincial partners are also releasing their annual report cards on child and family poverty today – all are calling for bold action against poverty. Click on the following links to read and download the new report cards and other materials as they become available:

National Report in  English and French

Media release in English and French

Infographics: report card overview, childcare and inequality

Ontario Child Poverty Infographics & Media Release, November 2018

Please click on the Media Release and five infographics listed below:

Ontario Campaign 2000 Media Release, Nov. 2018

Poverty Hurts Ontario

Income Security

Workers’ Rights

Universal Childcare

Affordable Housing

Reference List

Other provincial reports and support materials

Prince Edward Island Report Card, November 2018

New Brunswick Report Card, November 2018

Manitoba Report Card in 2018 (forthcoming in December)

Saskatchewan Report Card, November 2018

Alberta Report Card, November 2018

British Columbia Report Card, November 2018

 

Campaign 2000 will release its annual national Report Card on Child and Family Poverty on Tuesday, November 20 in Ottawa. The report marks 29 years since the unanimous House of Commons resolution to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000, and nine years since the House voted “to develop an immediate plan to end poverty for all in Canada.

The national release will take place at the National Child Day Breakfast on the Hill for MPs and Senators hosted by the All Party Anti-Poverty Caucus. We are proud to co-present the event with our partners Child Care Now, Canadian Federation of University Women, OXFAM Canada and UNICEF Canada. The national report card release takes place simultaneously with provincial report card releases in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. All report cards and related materials will be available at www.campaign2000.ca on November 20.

Campaign 2000 marks the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 17, and we recall the federal government’s promise in 1989 to end child poverty by the year 2000. Canada has since reaffirmed this promise twice, but most recently released its Poverty Reduction Strategy that aims only to halve poverty by 2030.

These moving goalposts mean that today 1 in 5 children remain poverty, and by 2030–if the federal government reaches its target–hundreds of thousands of children will still be in poverty, 41 years after the original promise.

Canada must do more to eradicate child and family poverty. Our children have waited long enough. See our infographic to mark this special day.

Campaign 2000 welcomed the August 21 release of Opportunity for All: Canada’s First Poverty Reduction Strategy but also expressed disappointment that the strategy’s long-term goal of reducing poverty by 50% by 2030 means another generation of children – approximately 600,000 – will grow up in poverty. The Campaign 2000 coalition will continue to call for greater investments to accelerate reductions in poverty given 4.8 million Canadians suffer poverty today.

Read the full response from Campaign 2000.

On August 3, Campaign 2000 submitted its priorities for the 2019 federal budget. According to the submission, eradicating poverty, to ensure every person in Canada the opportunity to succeed and live in dignity, is the right thing to do for children and for all of us. Right now, 4.8 million Canadians suffer the indignity, hunger, insecurity, stress and social exclusion of poverty.   Eradicating poverty is undoubtedly essential to promoting Canada’s economic growth and competitiveness as found by the Conference Board of Canada while promoting population health, enhancing social cohesion and enabling fuller social and economic participation of all Canadians.

Learn more about Campaign 2000’s priorities for the 2019 federal budget here.

 

In the lead up to Canada’s first federal Poverty Reduction Strategy, Campaign 2000 reveals a disturbing picture of the magnitude of child poverty in every federal riding. The latest data paint a stark portrait of inequality in Canada with high- and low-income families living in close proximity while divided by wide social and economic gaps that leave too many children hungry, sick and stressed beyond their years.

Troublingly, this report shows that the federal ridings with the highest levels of child and family poverty are home to a higher proportion of Indigenous, racialized and immigrant communities and lone-parent led families. This correlation signals the persistence of discrimination and systemic inequalities that translate to higher unemployment, lower labour market participation rates and higher proportions of renters and people spending more than 30% of their income on housing.

The presence of child and family poverty in every riding in Canada demands strong and decisive federal action through the Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS). Clearly, every community, every Member of Parliament and all political parties have a stake in the eradication of poverty.

• Read the Media Release in English and in French
• Read the new report in English Campaign 2000 Riding by Riding Child Poverty Report and in French Campaign2000 Riding by Riding Child Poverty Report
• Check out the infographic summarizing Canada’s child poverty by ridings report.

What is the child poverty rate in your riding?

• Click here to enter your postal code and find your federal electoral district.
• Find the child poverty rate in your riding in this child poverty by ridings datafile sorted in alphabetical order.

Mapping Child Poverty

• Child Poverty Rates Canada Wide:
  • The Rate of Child Poverty, Riding by Riding
  • The Number of Child Poverty, Riding by Riding
  • Ridings with highest child poverty rates
  • Ridings with lowest child poverty rates
• Marginalized communities & child Poverty Rates by Riding:
  • Indigenous Peoples
  • Lone-Parent Families
  • Recent Immigrants
  • Visible Minority Population
• The number of children living in poverty in major cities: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, and Montreal.

In recognition of National Volunteer Week, Campaign 2000 extends a special thanks to our vital and dedicated volunteers! Volunteers provide leadership, guidance and expertise to all of Campaign 2000’s activities.

Our volunteers help power the anti-poverty movement in Canada by raising public awareness of poverty and its consequences and advocating for social justice from coast to coast to coast. We are privileged to work with volunteers that include parents, youth and children in low income; partner groups; advisors and  steering committee members from across Canada.

Your dedication to the goal of eradicating child and family poverty keeps our network strong, vibrant and effective at building policies and programs supportive of low income children and families. Happy Volunteer Week!

According to Campaign 2000, Budget 2018 makes inroads against poverty and inequality with boosts to Canadians’ incomes, but the gains for parents, women, workers and Indigenous people need to be poverty-proofed and paired with accessible public services in the upcoming Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS). We note that the absence of meaningful child care funding is glaring in the context of the commitment to gender equality from this government.

“Budget 2018’s inroads are in the right direction, but with a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy the federal government can truly go the distance for children and their families,” says Anita Khanna, Campaign 2000’s National Coordinator. “With nearly 1 in 5 children in poverty, Canada needs to take the training wheels off in 2019 and roll out the strong investments in poverty eradication that Canadians have awaited for far too long.”

Read our full response. See Canada Child Benefit infographic.

Budget 2018 in the news:
CBC: Budget 2018: Highlights of Bill Morneau’s ‘equality + growth’ budget
Government of Canada: Budget 2018

Blog post by Shannon Udall, MSW Student

Ending child poverty in Canada requires equity for, and the inclusion of, all communities. As Black History Month comes to a close, we must recognize that  Black history in Canada is shaped by discriminatory policies, bias in institutions and anti-Black racism. This history continues into present Canadian culture and public policies. Across Canada, anti-Black racism continues to result in higher rates of poverty experienced by Black children and families.

2016 Census data show that 30.2% of Black children under 18 in Canada live in poverty in comparison with 17% of children under 18 in Canada, overall[1]. This rate rises in Ontario, where 32.8% of Black children live in poverty compared to 18.4% of children under 18 .[2]

We  know that Black children and youth experience drastically higher rates of discipline in the school system[3]. They also represent 37% of apprehended children in care of the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, despite only accounting for 8% of the population[4]. Black Canadians are also incarcerated at a disproportionate rate[5] and face discrimination in accessing housing, employment and social services.[6] These systemic factors result in Black Canadians experiencing higher rates of poverty.

Black history month reminds us to remember and acknowledge the passionate work and advocacy of Black communities to organize around these issues and to resist anti-Black racism. It is also a time to amplify the stories of resistance and resilience that have shaped Black Canadian history. Canadians of African descent have been on this land as long as British and French colonists[7]. Despite Canada’s reputation as a refuge for African Americans since the time of the Underground Railroad, Black Canadians have and continue to experience many of the same injustices experienced by Black Americans including slavery, institutional segregation, extreme public violence and housing discrimination[8]. While there has been recent progress from Government, including the Government of Canada’s recognition of the International Decade for People of African Decent and the creation of anti-black racism strategies in the province of Ontario and the city of Toronto, Black communities in Canada still experience high rates of discrimination and injustice.

An important step in moving forward to address these inequalities is the need to collect disaggregated data. The lack of disaggregated data concerning race obscures the extent of anti-Black racism in Canada. All levels of government must commit to collecting disaggregated race- based data to analyze how policies and programs support and fail racialized communities and direct resources to filling the gaps that so many families fall through. The Government must restore, enhance and strengthen Canada’s Action Plan Against Racism (CAPAR) based on community input and respond to growing concerns about racial profiling plaguing Black, Indigenous and racialized families[1].  As Canadians we must recognize ongoing and historical injustices and hold our government and ourselves accountable for ending the policies and beliefs that perpetuate anti-Black racism in Canada. Black communities have survived and thrived in their resistance to anti-Black racism. It’s now Canada’s turn to commit to equity and racial justice.

[1] A Poverty Free Canada Requires Federal Leadership
[2] Data tables, 2016 Census
[3] Canadian Education is Steeped in Anti-Black Racism
[4] Drop in number of Black children placed in care heralded as good start
[5] Statement to the media by the United Nations’ Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, on the conclusion of its official visit to Canada, 17-21 October 2016
[6] City of Toronto-funded ads confront anti-black racism
[7] Anti-Black Racism in Canada – A Historical Perspective
[8] Canadian Education is Steeped in Anti-Black Racism